Wichita eagle., 1887-05-22
FOR THE SIGHTLESS.
BOOKS, MAPS AND WRITING APs
PARATUS FOR BLIND PEOPLE.
A French Museum-What England Has
Acoomplished-One of the Triumphs Of
Modern Educational Work-Great In.
genuity Displayed.

genutty Displayed.
museum for the blind has been opened
In the Rue de Rousselet. 1t has been es-
tabished by the blind Dr. Guilbeau, one
of the professors in the Institute des
Jeunes Aveugles, and contains specimens
of nearly all the objects invented for q
long course of years for schools tprimary,
technical and others for sightless pupils
Persons having blind relatives or friends
will on Tuesdays obtain any information
ing apparatus, teachers and SO on for their
special benefit. Not the least curious part
of the exhibition is what is contained in
lection of quartO volumes, all the principal
characters of which are raised on the
Braille system. This is now more in use
than any other in Italy, Prussia, Alsace
and the United States. It is said that it
has the merit OF being very simple, but to
an unaccustOmed eye it is as hard to make
out as shorthand.
ENGLISH BLIND ALPHABET.
The English blind alphabet is quite DIFF
ferent, looking like the Ninevite inscrip-
ton. The letters, according to the Braille
system, are made like the French sign for
an acute accent, and are set in squares.
The relative angles at which they are
placed, one to another, give them alpha
betical meaning. Blindness is much more
the scourge Of the poor man than Of the
rich. If, therefore, charitable societies
did not bring out books for the blind it
would be impossible for this unfortunate
class to obtain them. Most of those in
the Braille type are for school classes.
There are already eight volumes Of Lit
tres dictionary, some works Of reference,
La Fontaine's Fables, Boileau's Lutrin Sc
lections from the great French authors in
prose and verse and Bible, which has
been printed by society to further educa-
ton among the blind.
But the efforts made in this direction in
France are poor when compared with the
results won in England, although the
alphabet used there seems less easy to
learn and covers more space than the
Braille one. In England there have been
as many as a hundred thousand volumes
printed for sightless readers, including the
Bible, the ''Pilgrim's Progress" Milton's
works and all Shakespeare plays, but, as
DIR. Guilbeau says, these facts should not
discourage him and his fellow workers,
because the English speaking peoples form
the most reading nations of the world, or
at least the nations who give the most
business to the printer and publisher. An
encouraging fact is the existence in France
of three periodicals for the blind. One, LIE
Louis Braille, is monthly, and costs three
francs a year Its fortnightly edition
costs seven francs, and embraces a great
variety Of topics which enter into the
common range of journalism. Les Trois
Mondes is the second. 1t appears at Mar
settles, where the number of sightless per-
sons is great, and there appears in the
same city weekly paper chiefly devoted
to musical topics. 1t has a circulation Of
about 600, and 480 blind persons subscribe
to it.
HEARING AND TOUCH.
When sight goes in youth the sense Of
hearing becomes intensely acute, and
music is source of the deepest pleasure.
The sense of touch acquires such deli
cacy and power that the blind may be
said not only to see with the tips of their
fingers. but with their whole bodies
Those who recover sight are a long time
learning how to use their eyes. Accord
ing to DR.. Guilbeau, who to-day was at
the museum of the Rue de Rousselet to
give any explanations visitors might
want, such persons often, when told to
fetch objects which they have already seen
and learned the names of, instinctively
shut their eyes and feel for them A
variety Of maps for the blind shown at
this museum display great ingenuity, and
the cost prices Of them are low. Among
them are celestial aliases.
1 should not forget the various means
for enabling the blind to write and cor
respond with each other and with persons
who see In the former case they use the
Braille characters and in the latter the
ordinary Roman characters, but the
pencil, with an agate or other hard point,
moves from right to left. Its course is
marked by lines Of strong thread stretched
on piece of cloth, beneath which there
is a sheet of paper. When the paper 10
taken out and turned the words that have
been traced are in relief and to be read
from left to right. The chess boards differ
little from those used at sea by naval
officers. The playing cards have all tiny
marks in relief on the inside corners,
which on being felt by blind player, en-
ables him to understand his own hand
and know what his partner or opponent
has played The sightless can thus play
rubbers of whist with persons who are
not sightless. Mercury.